


The Elephant in the Room

by bakers_impala221



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Essay, Heartbreak, Johnlock - Freeform, LGBT, M/M, Marriage, Meta, Metaphors, Mirrors, Parallels, Sherlock - Freeform, Sherlock Holmes - Freeform, TJLC, The Sign of Three, The elephant in the room, Unconfessed Feelings, best man speech, speech, tsot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 17:16:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17047304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakers_impala221/pseuds/bakers_impala221
Summary: Meta analysing The Sign of Three references to The Elephant in the Room and what they mean





	The Elephant in the Room

**Author's Note:**

> I reccomend that, before you read this, you follow the link just below to read John's blog entry, if you haven't yet. But it's not absolutely neccessary.

[John's blog -The Elephant in the Room](http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/blog/10june)

The 'elephant in the room' is an English metaphorical idiom used to refer to an obvious problem or issue that everyone is clearly aware of but no one wants to address or talk about. The phrase is usually used to mean 'the obvious', because if there were to be a literal elephant standing in a room, under most circumstances it would be huge and rather difficult to miss. However, the phrase refers to something of this matter of which, despite being dramatically conspicuous, is being disregarded. Metaphorically, this could represent anything that everyone is aware of, but that is being blatantly ignored.

This phrase is brought up quite a few times within the second episode of season 3, The Sign of Three, and is referenced both in and outside of the show. Within The Sign of Three it's mostly mentioned by name; outside of the episode it's usually referenced via a physical elephant sculpture, seen in places such as scenes in The Abominable Bride, during interviews with the writers, and on social media pages (though I won't be analysing anything outside of The Sign of Three, which is when the metaphor is first introduced). So, as shown in a brief clip during the infamous best man speech Sherlock delivers for about half the episode, the Elephant in the Room is an actual, physical elephant that has been somehow put inside a flat in central London. John makes a blog entry about it (the link to that is above), however is very limited to the telling of the story due to the government (i.e. Mycroft; who coincidentally represents the writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat). The actual elephant is, funnily enough, never explicitly shown, but done implicitly through ~~subtext~~ the sound it makes as Sherlock and John stare at it, stunned. When you understand that obviously the elephant in the room is John and Sherlock's (romantic) love for each other, the ways in which it's referenced and the ways it's used within the episodes it's in become rather enlightening.

 

In the blog entry John writes about the case, he says, _"it's another one that I can't actually blog about because of the Official Secrets Act"_ , which means that the government has restricted him from telling the public. This means that he cant tell anyone about what happened with the Elephant in the Room. That is, Sherlock and John can't tell anyone about their love for each other because the government has made it illegal for them to.

This is probably both a reference to Mycroft (and therefore, Moftiss) as well as to the laws around homosexuality that have existed in the past in England, specifically during the era of the original Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and The Abominable Bride.

As mentioned before, the introduction of the elephant is technically done implicitly. It is occasionally talked about (though only really by name), but never _discussed_ or explained. That is, no one in the show says what really happened with the elephant and why it was there, and we never see anyone talking about it in an actual conversation. This is similar to the way in which Johnlock is represented in the show. The subtext alluding to the romantic love of Sherlock and John is _overwhelmingly_ present, and it is mentioned by people all throughout the series, like Mrs. Hudson, Mary, Donovan, Molly, Moriarty, Mycroft, Irene, Mike, and just about every other character on the show.

However, it is never talked about explicitly by either Sherlock or John, besides when their relationship is denied by John whenever mentioned to him, for fear of reputation and the irritation that everyone is able to see his interest when he believes it's unrequited. (That is, it's something _obvious to everyone that is ignored._ )

This complicated miscommunication is obviously a result of the writers, Moffat and Gatiss', decision to keep their relationship inexplicitly told, meaning that in a way, Mycroft, who "is the British Government" has prevented them from talking.

The other reason that they have been told not to discuss their relationship is that it would violate an Official Secrets Act set in place by the government. This could be an allusion to the laws that were in place in England from 1885 (just two years before the publication of the first Sherlock Holmes story, _A Study in Scarlett)_ with the introduction of the Labouchere Amendment which prohibited 'gross indecency' between males, making it possible to prosecute homosexuals for engaging in all sexual acts. These laws were changed in 1967 with the Sexual Offences Bill 1967, which decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men above the age of 21.

This is important because of the frequent appearance of an elephant in 221B in The Abominable Bride, which is set in 1895, when homosexuality was still illegal, and specifically important for its relevance to the conviction of Oscar Wilde for being gay.

 

When John explains that he's already written too much, he mentions Sherlock and his obsession with telling people. " _The number of times I've had to stop him telling people about it."_

Sherlock WANTS to tell people; he tries. But John stops him all the time because he's scared of the consequences they'll face if he does.

_"I swear, I'm going to have to follow him at the wedding to stop him telling people!"_

He... he's going to have to follow **_Sherlock_** around. At **his own wedding to Mary.** Focusing on **_Sherlock_**. Because he's going to have to make sure **_Sherlock doesn't tell anyone they're in love while he's at John's wedding._**

(And Sherlock comments that he might include it in his best man speech. And then the entire episode was literally... him talking about his love for John. With cases included just to... prove his point about how amazing John is.)

Then John says that he doesn't want Sherlock talking about it or including it in his best man speech because he _"[doesn't] want MI5 crashing the wedding."_ Which means he doesn't want him to talk about it because he doesn't want the authority ruining his wedding. That is, he doesn't want Sherlock to declare them in love, because of the consequences that come with being openly queer, especially considering the entire wedding is for the sake of making everyone believe he's straight to stop the teasing/comments that he's in love with Sherlock.

[ Remember in The Empty Hearse, a conversation between John and Mary:

"I don't shave for Sherlock Holmes." (I don't do everything just to please Sherlock)

"You should put that on a T-shirt." (So that people can just constantly see it, so that you don't have to always correct everyone)

"Shut up" (Stop teasing me about being devoted to Sherlock)

"Or what?"

"Or I'll marry you." (Or I'll get married. To a woman. That way everyone will think I'm straight and won't even have to wear the T-shirt) ]

 

(Note: Sherlock thinks this is boring and doesn't approve)

 

And to add to the best man speech element of this, were the times it was actually mentioned in the episode:

So the first time, of course, had to be the directly after the line _"oscillation on the pavement always means there's a love affair"_

Succeeded by _"... and of COURSE I have to mention the elephant in the room."_

Which, as you probably all know, when John first went to see Sherlock after that scene with Mary when he was shaving and she picks up on the fact that he's doing it for Sherlock, John goes to Baker St and hovers outside it, scared; oscillating. This is exactly what Sherlock describes as the symptoms of a love affair.

The other thing is that this is a direct parallel to the case Happily Ever After that Sherlock mentions in his speech with just the phrase " _touching_ cases" and then a scene of the two of them in the flat, John watching their client walk up to the door and then away again, when Sherlock reveals his deduction (that oscillation means a love affair).

So, Sabrina (the client) is pretty clearly a mirror for John. Which means Sabrina's case was to show that John, someone who is attracted to men, feels trapped in his marriage pretending to be heterosexual and truly wants to be with someone else. Specifically, a man.

And then Sherlock jumps from that, straight to a line that means, "oh and of course I have to mention our love for each other."

 

So the last time the elephant in the room was mentioned was when Sherlock is going on about how the Mayfly Man couldn't bear marriage (yet another mirror for John, who, just like Sabrina, can't stand his marriage), basically just saying that John shouldn't get married because it is clearly boring and terrible and he should stay with Sherlock. I mean:

_"Married. Obvious, really. Our Mayfly Man was trying to escape the suffocating chains of domesticity and instead of endless nights in watching the telly or going to barbecues with awful, boring people he couldn't stand, he used his wits, cleverness and powers of disguise to play the field. He was..."_

(He realises the room doesn't like what he's saying)

_"On second thoughts I probably should have told you about the elephant in the room."_

So, to make this clear, he was saying:

"John, look at how horrible marriage is. You have made a horrible mistake and you seriously need to reconsider. You'll end up lonely and exasperated at your boring life, and most of all, just like Mrs Hudson said this morning about how she "hardly saw her [best friend] after [she got married]", even though "they always said that [they] were going to be best friends forever." Mrs Hudson's right. It doesn't matter that you say nothing will change, we'll hardly see each other after this. I don't want to lose you, John..."

"Maybe I should have just gone with straight up confessing my love for you instead..."

Which could be a parallel to the episode and literally talking about THAT MOMENT, just saying: maybe I shouldn't have gone to all this trouble in this speech, but instead just confessed straight up. But honestly, it's probably more in parallel with the whole season to this point.

He wishes he hadn't spent that time standing idly by, watching as the one person he loves most leaves him. He wishes he hadn't intercepted John so subtly as he'd proposed to Mary. He wishes he hadn't tried to do anything so subtly: writing music for him, teaching him to dance, freaking out, pining after him, missing him. He wishes he'd just gone straight up to John and told him he was in love with him, because he thinks that maybe it could have made a difference. But now it's too late, and that's what he's realised. Hence, the next line:

_"However, it does illustrate how invaluable John is to me... but a word to the wise: should any of you require the services of either of us, I will solve your murder, but it takes John Watson to save your life. Trust me on that - I should know. He's saved mine so many times, and in so many ways."_

And he hold up his PHONE (heart)

(One of those ways, was saving him emotionally.)

But also, it has the blog on it, meaning the blog -their story- is what's in his heart. Or what is his heart.

 _"This blog is the story of two men and their frankly ridiculous adventures... but from now on there's a new story..."_ (marriage; life with Mary)

So basically, he says

"John has saved my life, my heart, everything. He IS everything to me. I am so so desperately in love with him. But I am going to listen to his requests. I'm not going to tell people about the elephant in the room, or how much he means to me, or that I'm in love with him - not anymore. Because John wants something else: normalcy; a life with Mary. So that's what I'm going to let him have. And that's how I end this speech. By giving that to you John: exactly what you've always wanted."

(A life without me)

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback, suggestions or just overall opinions are greatly appreaciated


End file.
